Wish
by hepster
Summary: A night under the stars can bring you closer together. That wish you made on a shooting star might actually come true.


It was black and white. The blackness was the vacuum of space above and the whiteness was the moon and the stars and the galaxies that shined above them. The grass was lush and green, stained with blood from the day's work.

He was yellow and blue and grey and brown and tan, all of the colours that formed his silhouette. His yellow shirt, blue coveralls, grey and navy cap. The chocolate of his subtle curls. The tan of his skin. The blue of his eyes were almost hidden by the reflection of the sky above them, but she could see. She paid attention to the little details.

The small crook in his nose. The sweat that was drying on his skin and clothes. The slight smirk that always graced his lips. The peaceful yet intense look on his face that showed he was in deep thought. It was amazing to her how much his face could show.

She could feel the body heat coming off of him. They must be sitting close to each other. She hadn't really paid attention to their distance. It didn't matter. No matter how near or far they were from each other, she could always feel that connection to him.

She had felt a spark of it the first time they had crossed paths. She hadn't been herself then. She'd pretended to brush him off, but later on, she couldn't deny that he was interesting, to say the least.

They parted paths, as people tend to do. But they found each other again by some universal force. After a month or so, her boat stop working and he realized that the government wasn't going to help and then the Plains beckoned them and they both answered the call.

The others were in the house on the other side of the hill. It had been abandoned, but it had food and supplies and their parties needed both. So they spent the night. He had gone out after everyone else had gone to bed and she couldn't sleep, as usual, and followed him.

He had been lying on the grass with his hat tipped up, lying with his head resting on his arms. She'd never seen him so quiet before. Had she not seen the rising and falling of his chest, she might have thought him dead. She'd approached him and sat down next to him. He was only a little startled.

She hadn't spoken. This was his moment and she was the thief stealing it away from him and so she wanted him to make the first move. After a while of sitting there, he lifted his head and looked at her and looked towards the spot next to him and she lay down next to him as he wished.

They sat there for a few minutes before he spoke.

"Hey Zoey?"

"Yeah, Ellis?"

He pondered for a moment, like he was afraid that the next thing that would come out of his mouth would make a Tank appear.

"Do ya'…do ya' ever sit outside under the stars and just…think about nothin'?"

He didn't look at her. She was almost surprised by such a deep thought coming from him, but she learned long ago not to judge a book by its cover. She didn't answer him, simply slid herself closer to him and laid her hands on her stomach. She remembered when she would sneak out and lay on the rooftop of her father's apartment building and look up at the sky and feel a brilliant peace that touched her in so many ways. Even if most of the stars she saw were airplanes. There were always too many lights in the city.

But this, this was what she loved. This was what she missed. How everything could just slow down so much that the only thing that existed was the sky and grass. And a touch.

He didn't make a single glance towards her. He simply grabbed her hand off her body and had it rest in between them. She looked at him and almost had to stifle a laugh. The redness on his face from blushing was too obvious.

It was nice, honestly. She hadn't been much of a social butterfly when she was in high school and didn't have a lot of experience with the opposite gender. But, she could tell that he liked her a bunch. Rochelle had told her stories about their time in Riverside. How absolutely in love with her he was.

He wasn't a bad guy to be loved by. Not at all.

A flash of light across the sky. Then another and then another. A meteor shower. She felt the inside of her stomach flip from excitement. A smile broke out onto her face. A giggle escaped with her breath. He got up on his one elbow and looked at her, somewhat quizzically, but mostly amused.

"What're you smilin' about?"

"I've always wanted to see falling stars. We never got to see them back in Philly..." The wonder in her voice must have surprised him. He smiled that loveable grin of his and squeezed her hand just a little bit. He moved closer to her as he spoke.

"Well, nobody should ever go without wishin' on a fallin' star! Here's what ya' do-" He got a serious look on his face, like her having this experience was a matter of life or death. She couldn't stand to tell him that she already knew the drill.

"You have ta' pick your star. Make sure it's a good one though! Then ya' close yer' eyes…" He paused and gave her a look. She rolled her eyes playfully and obliged. She could practically hear his smile. "Good. Now, imagine it. Imagine that star goin' across the sky. Imagine yer' wish goin' with that star and if you focus juuuuust enough, then it'll come true fer ya."

His voice was hypnotic to her. She could help but turn his words into her own actions as he spoke. She didn't really know what to realistically wish for. Her parents were gone and weren't coming back. Same with Bill. Same with her old life and the life she would have had if the Green Flu hadn't turned her world grey. So she wished a simple wish. No more death. She was tired of seeing everyone she loved die.

When she opened her eyes, she saw him come out of his wish too. He still hadn't let go of her hand. He was lying flat on the grass now, smiling that smile with his eyes as bright as the stars themselves and sitting there with all the colours on him standing out against the semi-darkness of the night like a painting.

She would have been content to stay like that forever had the urge not come. The urge to show him how much that simple gesture had meant to her. The urge to show him how much she appreciated their short dialogue because actions spoke louder than words and the connection that they had right now needed neither. It was about want. Desire.

She hadn't realized how long she was looking at him for until he turned his head back towards her. He had a ghost of a smile on his face, which fell when he saw her. She could see herself in his eyes. Unsure and yet she looked determined too. She was determined now.

She rolled onto her side. He followed her without leaving her gaze. He looked very confused. She didn't let him be confused anymore.

Her free hand found the side of his face and felt the stubble on his jaw line. Her body felt the muscle underneath his shirt go stiff as she moved closer to him. Now he was scared, embarrassed, wondering what in the hell was going on. She could see it process in his eyes.

She almost wanted to keep her eyes open to see how he processed her touching their lips together. Almost. But the experience was so much better in the dark.

He didn't move, She knew he wanted to, but the poor guy was probably in a state of shock. But she was patient. He would come around. After a moment, he shifted his weight so that she was half on top of him with his arm resting lightly on the small of her back. His lips pressed harder into hers like he couldn't get enough of the sensation and she moved her fingers from caressing his face to feeling the bottom of his hair line.

It seemed like forever in bliss. She never thought that she'd feel this way from a touch, but with the right person, it was so much more. The spark had ignited into a fire and there was nothing to put it out but air. She forgot to breathe. She pulled back lightly and rested her head on his chest, right over his heart. It was beating a million miles a minute. She glanced up at him.

If he wasn't red before, he sure was now. His mouth was opening and closing like a pet fish waiting for it's food. She grinned like a mad man at that and giggled. He looked down at her, but didn't quite meet her eyes. Still too embarrassed. She'd have to work on that with him.

He spoke.

"S-So uh- what'd cha' w-wish fer', Zoey?" The way his voice cracked on her name made her snort instead of successfully hiding a loud laugh. She didn't want to hurt the poor boy's feelings.

"Ellis! You can't tell someone your wish! It won't come true if you do." He went to smack his own head, but she grabbed his hand so that she had both of them now and she wasn't letting go. He looked like a deer in headlights, so she laced her fingers into his own to let him know that he wasn't dreaming. It seemed to work.

"So…what did you wish for, huh?" she asked jokingly. He gave her playful look at first, but with a single breath, it changed for a second time that evening. He was more serious now. His answer was almost a whisper.

"Mine's already happened."

She raised an eyebrow to that.

"I got you now…don't I? I mean, we're uh-you know…uh…right?"

The answer was sweet, much like he was. It was silly, much like he could be. But it was what she liked, much like how she felt about him. So she choose to answer by letting go of his hands and using them to touch the sides of his face and bring their lips together again.

He happily held her close to him, so that he could remind himself to wish on shooting stars more often.


End file.
